The Legend of Baltimore
by BlinkYourEyes
Summary: The year is 1951. A young Corny Collins has big ideas for his future, and it all starts with one woman. Velma Von Tussle. The story of how the Corny Collins show came to be. Eventual CornyxVelma, AmberxLink, AmberxShelley.
1. Chapter 1

**[The year is 1951. A young Corny Collins has big ideas for his future, and it all starts with one woman. Velma Von Tussle. Eventual CornyxVelma, AmberxLink, AmberxShelley]**

**Characters in this chapter:**

**Velma Von Tussle [32]**

**Cornelius 'Corny' Collins [23]**

**Amber Von Tussle [6]**

"Tiffany, I'm leaving!" Velma announced, her heels clacking against the wood floor of her home. She picked up her clutch bag from the table and popped into the kitchen to see the babysitter, Tiffany, and her daughter, Amber, sitting at the table as Tiffany attempted to feed the six year old her lunch. The two looked up from their task, a wide smile spreading over Amber's face at the sight of her mother with her hair done up and make up on her face.

Velma strode over to the small blonde, taking a napkin from the table and running it over the girls' mouth. "Remember, don't give her too much. If she's still hungry afterwards, there's some carrots in the refrigerator. No dairy, except for milk, and she should be put down for a nap in around an hour." She explained to Tiffany, smoothing down Amber's fair blonde hair.

"Momma, can I play with Shelley?" Amber asked, looking up at Velma with hopeful blue eyes. Velma bit down on her lip hesitantly. She looked at Tiffany, who shrugged her shoulders.

"Sweetie, wouldn't you rather play with Tammy, or Lou Ann?" The older woman asked, bending down so that she was eye level with her daughter.

"But Tammy is playing with Brenda, and Brenda is playing with Paulie, and yesterday Paulie said that he can't play with me because his mommy says that you put tissues in your dress and that's how you married daddy before she did. And Lou Ann is sick." Amber pouted. Velma chewed on the inside of her cheek as she saw Tiffany try to keep her giggles to herself.

Taking a deep breath, Velma looked at the clock and quickly stood up. "I don't have time for this-here." She grabbed a piece of paper and a pen, scribbling down Shelley's phone number and handed it to Tiffany. "Call after Amber's had her nap. I love you, Amber." Velma bent down quickly to place a kiss on her daughters head, thanking Tiffany as she made her way out the door.

* * *

><p>Cornelius Collins stepped out of his black 1951 Mercedes Benz, grabbing his suitcase from the passenger seat. Bending down, he checked himself in the side mirror, running his tongue over his shiny white teeth. Taking a deep breath, he straightened his bowtie and made his way into the nice restaurant.<p>

"May I help you?" The hostess asked, giving him a friendly smile as he entered.

"Uh, yes, please. I'm looking for…" He trailed off as his eyes wandered around the room and landed on a fair skinned blonde woman sipping on a glass of wine. "Nevermind." Cornelius grinned, walking past the hostess and towards the woman. "Excuse me, um…Ms. Von Tussle?" He asked nervously, not wanting to mess up before he'd even met the woman.

Velma looked up from her glass of wine, and a small smile played at her lips as she looked the young man up and down. "Yes. Please, take a seat, Mr. Collins." She offered, setting her glass down and turning her full attention to him.

Cornelius smiled, taking a seat across from her. "May I?" He asked politely, beginning to remove his jacket. Velma nodded, watching with curiosity as he slipped out of the garment and hung it on the back of his chair. He cleared his throat. "I'd like to start by saying thank you for meeting with me. I've been trying-" Velma cut him off with a hand.

"Let's make this brief, Mr. Collins. Time is of the essence." She sighed, crossing her legs and sitting back in her chair.

"Actually, I'd prefer if you called me Corny." He laughed nervously, reaching for his suitcase and setting it on his lap. Opening it up, he laid out a few papers and set the suitcase back onto the ground by his feet. "Well. When I heard that the WYZT studio had been bought out, and that you were looking for new ideas for the station, my mind instantly began to work. Now, I have three possible ways that the station could earn the ratings that it had been lacking in the past years." Corny stated, sliding three packets towards the woman.

Velma looked at Corny for a moment, before one of her delicate hands reached out and picked up one of the stacks of paper. Her eyes skimmed over it quickly before she set it back down and picked up the second one. As she read it over, her nose scrunched up in distaste, and she looked at the young man with a raised brow. He swallowed nervously, shifting uncomfortably. Velma placed the packet down, and picked up the final one.

Curiosity stirred inside her, and she opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it, and then opened it again. Corny looked at her hopefully, leaning forward in his seat. "And who do you expect to…lead this project?" Velma asked, her interest peaked. Corny sat up proudly.

"Why, myself, of course." He grinned, showing off his white teeth. Velma chewed on the inside of her cheek, looking from the paper to Corny. He fit the description; of course the description that he'd written himself. A young, attractive, charming man who possessed the ability to get anybody up on their feet and was up for a challenge.

"And how would I, or the studio, rather, benefit, from launching this?" The blonde woman asked, taking another sip from her wine.

Corny thought for a moment. "Kids." He stated, shrugging. Velma rolled her eyes, sneering lightly. "Not a fan?" He asked, chuckling. "Think about it, Ms. Von Tussle. With an idea like that, what type of audience do you think we're going to be attracting? Music, dancing, singing…definitely not an older crowd. And there are a lot more kids than adults these days, if you haven't noticed. And more kids equals more ratings. And more ratings equals…" He trailed off, letting her finish the sentence on her own.

"More money." She smiled. "Well, _Corny._ I think we've got ourselves an idea." Velma reached across the table, meeting Corny halfway and shaking hands. The young man beamed proudly. "Now, how about lunch?" She asked, picking up a menu from the table.


	2. Chapter 2

"Well, obviously I'm still going to need you to fill out an application, and I'll need all of you information and everything." Velma sighed, wiping her mouth with a napkin and pushing her salad plate away from her. "Unfortunately, I left all of that back at my house, and I won't be able to get it to you until sometime next week."

Corny felt a quick sense of fear settle into his stomach. The thought of something swooping in the next week and taking his position from under his nose terrified him; especially after he worked so hard trying to figure out what he was going to do. If somebody got to those applications before he did, he'd be done. "Or I could just you follow you back and pick them up. I-I mean, if that's okay with you, of course…" He chuckled, shrugging.

Velma stared at him for a moment, nibbling at the tender skin of her bottom lip. She found his eagerness flattering. Without a word, she smiled at one of the waitresses and beckoned her forward. "Just a check, please." She grinned. Corny could tell it was forced; all of her teeth were showing and her eyes glowed with annoyance, most likely due to the fact that the poor waitress had put the wrong dressing on her salad.

The young woman quickly placed the check on the table and scurried away.

Corny reached for the small booklet, only to have Velma beat him to it, sliding the black book towards herself and taking out her clutch bag. She removed the money from it and placed it inside of the book, standing up and pushing her chair in. When Corny didn't move, she arched an eyebrow at him. "Well?" She asked, beginning to walk away. "Are you coming?"

Smiling widely, Corny stood up quickly, throwing his napkin on the table. As he passed the young waitress, he smiled thankfully, handing her two dollars as he followed Velma outside. "Now you've done it Corny! 'Atta boy!" He cheered himself on, climbing into his car.

Corny let out a low whistle as he pulled up behind Velma in front of her house. "Crazy…" He trailed off, getting out of his car and catching up with the blonde as she made her way to the front door. "You live here? This doesn't look like a house. How many people live here?" He asked.

"Just two. Three on special occasions." She shrugged, opening the door with a push of her shoulder. "Tiffany, I'm home!" She called inside the house, leaving the door open for Corny, who closed it behind himself. The house was silent for a moment before squeals could be heard running towards the pair.

"Mommy! Mommy!" The small blonde girl, practically a spitting image of Velma, rounded the corner, a pudgy little red head running after her. Velma bent down, opening her arms up for her daughter and scooping her up, placing gentle kisses on her face. Amber giggled madly, scurrying out of her mother's arms and back onto the ground beside her friend, Shelley.

Corny shuffled his feet awkwardly, his eyes scanning the vicinity of the home. The interior was even more beautiful than the exterior. The walls were doused in pastel pinks, light accents of yellow adorning the trims on the floor and ceilings. The dressers and vanity's shimmered with silver and glass, the entire situation reminded him of a fairytale. Did a man even live here?

"Thank you again, Tiffany, here you go." Corny drew his attention away from the home and back to the other occupants of the house. He watched as the young teenage girl left, and turned himself to Velma.

"Momma, who's this?" Amber asked, tugging on Corny's trousers. He looked down at the young girl, smiling charmingly. He bent down so that he was eye level with the six year old, holding his hand out to her. "He's pretty!" She giggled.

"Mr. Corny Collins at your service, ma'am." Corny chuckled.

"I'm Amber." She proudly stated, shaking his hand lightly. Corny grinned, bringing her hand up to his lips. Amber squealed, scurrying behind Shelley. "And this is my friend Shelley!" She giggled, pushing the girl in front of her.

Shelley froze in front of Corny, her eyes wide. "I-I'm seven." She stuttered out, tripping as she tried to curtsey in front of him, like her mother had taught her.

"Alright girls, go inside. I have to discuss business with Mr. Corny." Velma ushered the girls into the next room, and turned to Corny. "Sorry about that. I work long hours; so when she isn't in school, spending time together is a big deal for her." She sighed, beginning to walk to a new area of the house. Corny followed, wondering why it wouldn't be a big deal for Velma.

The blonde beauty led him into a large room at the back of the house. Upon opening the double doors, Corny stepped inside a totally different atmosphere. Unlike the rest of the house, the color of this room was a dark brown. Strewn across the large desk in the corner were papers and bills, and there were books stacked upon the two armchairs that couldn't fit into the bookshelves that surrounded the rest of the room.

"Does your husband like to read?" He asked, running his fingers over the cover of a large book on one of the chairs. Velma turned to him, raising a questioning eyebrow.

"They're mine, actually." She replied, walking over to her desk and skimming through the papers that littered it. "Franklin isn't at home usually; so they wouldn't be that useful to him." She added, averting her gaze. Corny thought back to the recent events going on in the world, and realization dawned on him.

"Oh… How long has he been in service?" He asked, suddenly feeling sorry for the woman.

She hesitated before answering. "…Three years." She swallowed, wishing it hadn't been brought up. She hadn't seen her husband since Amber was three, but she felt that she shouldn't complain; plenty of the men in Baltimore had been drafted. After a moment of silence, she dug through her drawers and pulled out a folder, slipping a few sheets of paper out of it and tucking it back into the drawer. "Anyway…here. Have these back to me by Monday, at the latest." She shrugged it off, handing him the papers.

Corny looked her over, taking the papers from her. He noticed how her expression had changed over the course of the day, from her powerful and icy demeanor at the restaurant, to her warm, motherly figure, and now the lonely, mournful wife. It amazed him how women could change in a matter of hours, even minutes, while men were some of the simplest creatures to figure out.

He nodded, opening up his suitcase and slipping the papers inside.


End file.
